New York Woman Suing Cornell Frat For $25 Million: Hazing Killed My Son

Now his mother is suing a fraternity at the Ivy League school for $25 million, alleging that her son died during a hazing ritual carried out by members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, according to the New York Post.

In the suit, Marie Lourdes André claims, frat members "kidnapped her son... bound him with plastic zip ties and forced him to consume so much booze that his blood-alcohol level was five times the legal driving limit several hours after he was dumped on a couch by his frat brothers."

The suit also alleges that when one of the boys found Desdunes "unresponsive," the frat removed the zip ties in an effort to conceal the hazing.

Desdunes majored in biology, according to the Daily News, and had "attended the posh Berkeley Carroll School in Park Slope. He was remembered at the school as a quiet, but friendly presence."

He was actually a full member of the frat when he was mock kidnapped, but "he was bound and quizzed about SAE lore, because members are required to know as much about the fraternity as new pledges are expected to learn," the Post reported.

There was another pledge also being quizzed, and "two were asked questions, and when they answered incorrectly, they did exercises or were given drinks," the Cornell Sun reported.

In May, four former Sigma Alpha Epsilon members pleaded not guilty "after a grand jury indicted them on misdemeanor charges of first-degree hazing and first-degree unlawfully dealing with a child," according to the Sun.

After the incident Cornell forced the frat to vacate the house and the national Sigma Alpha Epsilon organization shut down the Cornell chapter.